Meaning & use
industrial strength
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Made strong enough for use in factories or other tough working conditions.
Grammar: Comes before a noun, often hyphenated: industrial-strength glue.
Patterns
- industrial-strength cleaner
- industrial-strength material
They used industrial-strength cleaner to strip the paint off the floor.
The shed is held together with industrial-strength bolts.
You need industrial-strength gloves for that kind of work.
adjectivebefore a nouninformalhumorousfigurative
Used humorously to mean extremely strong, powerful, or intense.
Grammar: Informal and often funny; it exaggerates rather than describes real industry.
Patterns
- industrial-strength coffee
- industrial-strength argument
- industrial-strength charm
He came in with industrial-strength coffee and a long list of complaints.
She gave the idea her industrial-strength support.
After that industrial-strength workout, I could barely walk.
Common combinations
- industrial-strength cleaner
- The kitchen needed an industrial-strength cleaner.
- industrial-strength coffee
- That is industrial-strength coffee; I'll only drink half a cup.
- industrial-strength glue
- Use industrial-strength glue for the broken chair leg.
- industrial-strength support
- The plan had industrial-strength support from the whole team.
- industrial-strength version
- This is the industrial-strength version of the software.
Synonyms and how they differ
- heavy-duty
- The closest everyday equivalent; it stresses strength for hard work but lacks the joking tone.
- powerful
- General and neutral; it can describe people and ideas, not just materials.
- commercial
- Means made for businesses; a commercial cleaner is not necessarily stronger.
Opposites
Word family
- industry noun
- The making of goods in factories, or a whole area of business.
- industrial adjective
- Connected with factories and manufacturing.
- industrialize verb
- To develop factories and manufacturing in a country or area.
- industrialization noun
- The process of building up factories and industry.
Commonly confused: industrial strength or industrial strength? industrial strength or industrious?
industrial strength vs industrial strength
As a two-word phrase after a verb it acts like an adjective phrase: This soap is industrial strength. Before a noun, hyphenate it.
industrial strength vs industrious
Means hard-working and describes people, not products.
Practice
Which sentence is correct?
Choose one answer.
Before a noun, the phrase is hyphenated: 'industrial-strength cleaner'. Option 0 misses the hyphen, and options 2 and 3 put the article or adjective in the wrong place.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “industrial strength”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.